100 Awesome Music Videos

It's all fun and games until the elephant gas mask pops off and your elementary school classmate is left lifeless upon a sea of black ash and dead birds. Whereas most Sigur Rós videos are happy showcasing slow motion children (or slow motion old people acting like children) jumping off a cliff or sitting on a dock, director Floria Sigismondi sticks with the slo mo kids but relocates to a post-apocalyptic dusk. It's the only video to date that captures both the soaring euphoria and wilting comedowns of Sigur Rós's music in equal measure. Majestic horror at its finest. [Ryan Dombal]

Sinead O'Connor: "Nothing Compares 2 U"
1990
Directed by John Maybury

The "SNL" Pope incident. The reggae album. The alleged lesbianism. The "All Apologies" cover. The beef with Frank Sinatra. The fact that this song was written by Prince.

None of it matters when that tear rolls down her face. [Amy Phillips]

The Smiths: "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before"
1987
Directed by Tim Broad
Can be found on The Smiths: The Complete Picture DVD

Embedded content is unavailable.

This is basically a three-and-a-half-minute guide on how to be a Morrissey fan. You get all the major pieces of Smiths-era iconography (Strangeways, Oscar Wilde), plus a primer on the proper choice of glasses, blazers, bicycles, denim jackets, and haircuts. Will prove strangely exotic to American fans who've only previously heard of "Whalley Range" in the song "Miserable Lie". Plus it pairs with the video for "Tomorrow" as a demonstration of the man's uncanny power to turn other people into Morrissettes. [Nitsuh Abebe]

Snoop Doggy Dogg: "Gin & Juice"
1994
Directed by Dr. Dre

What kind of asshole answers the phone in the middle of sex? Anyway, Pete Macia made up a term for dudes on bikes chillaxing on a porch in L.A., where he lives, and that term is "hang-bangin." I think these guys are hang-bangin, until they are actually gang-bangin. I also think it's fucking stupid that MTV censors the term "endo." [Julianne Shepherd]

My ultimate fantasy at the age of 14: Meeting my soulmate in the mosh pit at a Sonic Youth show and making out with him on stage, right behind Kim Gordon. Ah, who am I kidding? That's still my ultimate fantasy. [Amy Phillips]

Sting: "Brand New Day"
1999
Directed by Jan Houllevigue

Behold the future of Chris Martin. [Peter Macia]

Superwolf: "I Gave You"
2005
Directed by Mike Piscitelli

Will Oldham has done more for the beard than anyone since Ulysses S. Grant. [Joe Tangari]

Talking Heads: "Once in a Lifetime"
1981
Directed by Toni Basil and David Byrne
Can be found on Once in a Lifetime Boxset

They Might Be Giants: "Ana Ng"
1989
Directed by Adam Bernstein
Can be found on Gigantic: A Tale of Two Johns DVD

Starring the Johns' teeth, this video matches They Might Be Giants' weird lyrics with equally weird visuals that eschew literality in favor of strange juxtapositions of Cold War ephemera that subtly shade the song with new meanings. The clip's most compelling feature, however, is its simplicity. Aside from the jittery play of text across the screen-- the only nod to special effects-- the clip is just two guys, a camera, and a cool set. And that's all you need. [Stephen M. Deusner]

'Til Tuesday: "Voices Carry"
1985
Directed by D.J. Webster

I really wonder why the hell Aimee took so much shit from her yuppie-scum hunk and his condescending "how's yr hobby?" jag. I guess her thinking was: Why just dump the jerk after he pushes me around, buys me nice earrings, tries to manhandle my bass case, and makes me wear a wig while we're having sex when I can trick him into shelling out for an extra opera ticket and then totally embarrass him in front of the Carnegie Hall hoi polloi? Score one for the chick with the rat-tail! [David Raposa]